Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 947 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 2.1%, now holding 43,464 shares valued at approximately $8.86 million.
• Watts Water Technologies reported $3.09 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.68, alongside a 7.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, with an annual yield of 0.7% based on its current price level.

Corebridge Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,464 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 947 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Watts Water Technologies worth $8,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,140 shares of the technology company's stock worth $503,711,000 after acquiring an additional 6,765 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $184,708,000 after acquiring an additional 273,628 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,983,000 after acquiring an additional 40,738 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,669 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 321,343 shares of the technology company's stock worth $65,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE WTS traded down $6.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $276.49. 307,137 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 238,049. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.02. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.59 and a twelve month high of $285.90.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%.Watts Water Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Northcoast Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.